The present invention relates to seating and the like, and in particular to a vertically adjustable back construction therefor.
Vertically adjustable back constructions for seating are generally well known in the art, and typically permit the height of the seat back to be positioned at different locations to accommodate various users and circumstances. One example of such adjustable seat back constructions can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,678 to DeKraker, which is assigned to Steelcase Inc., assignee of the present application. Typically, such vertically adjustable back mechanisms can not be manipulated by the user himself from a comfortable, natural seated position in the chair, but rather require the user to either get up out of the chair, or to reach in a manner which displaces the user from a normal sitting position. Consequently, vertical adjustment of the back is not always accurate, and can not be achieved very quickly.
A unique type of office chair was recently developed by Steelcase Inc., which is presently marketed under the "SENSOR" trademark. This new chair has a very distinctive, one-piece sculptured appearance, as if chiseled from a solid block of material, and is the subject of many issued and pending U.S. Pat. Nos., including U.S. patents 4,776,633; 4,720,142; 4,709,894; 5,050,931; 4,744,603; D 311,286; D 309,383; D 312,536 and D 312,003. The overall lines of the "SENSOR" chair are quite clean, sleek and uncluttered, and the sitting surfaces have a very soft warm appearance, with formed contours that imitate the shape of the human body. A novel molding technique is provided to manufacture a one-piece molded upholstered cushion assembly that is used in the "SENSOR" chair, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,153. The "SENSOR" chair has met with widespread commercial acceptance, and is generally considered to be the single, most successful office seating product on the market today. Several million "SENSOR" chairs have been sold to date, and they are presently being used in offices throughout the world.
Work processes in the office continue to change, as more hours are spent performing task intensive jobs. Hence, highly adjustable seating is rapidly becoming the fastest growing segment in the seating market, so as to keep pace with new technologies, diversified job responsibilities, shared offices, and other similar factors. Many users have standardized on and invested heavily in the "SENSOR" chair, and are anxious to preserve this important investment. It is particularly important in open office environments to maintain a common visual theme for the seating, so as to avoid a piecemeal or cluttered appearance.
Heretofore, vertically adjustable back constructions have been designed largely for use in conjunction with secretarial or task chairs of the type that have separate seat and back cushions, such as the chair disclosed in the above noted DeKraker U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,678. However, such back constructions are not particularly adapted for use in conjunction with seating that has a one-piece sculptured appearance, such as the "SENSOR" chair.